Moto3: 2022 rookie profile – Scott Ogden

Scott Ogden is one of two British riders in the new VisionTrack Honda squad.

Britain has not one but two new riders to cheer about in 2022 with the creation of the VisionTrack Honda squad by Michael Laverty with Taylor Mackenzie captain of the project as team manager and Scott Ogden and Joshua Whatley at the reigns.

Ogden has had a superb 2021 campaign in the Red Bull Rookies and notably in the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship taking two podiums including a win at Jerez plus pole position at the final round of the season at Valencia.

He raced and trained under the watchful eye of Jorge Martinez ‘Aspar’ alongside the 2021 FIM CEV Moto3 Champion Daniel Holgado and the 2021 Red Bull Rookies champion David Alonso, there was no chance he could fail with an incredible team around him which also secured success in 2020 winning the European Talent Cup, FIM CEV Moto3 and Moto3 World Championship. Racing for this team allowed him to recieve expert training to further his career off track, training with 2011 125cc World Champion Nico Terol who is the Aspar Team rider coach.

Ogden in the unmistakable Gas Gas Aspar colours. 

The racing CV of the young British rider from Doncaster includes four national championships, in 2019 he became the first double British champion in 25 years after taking home the Dorna backed British Talent Cup and the British Motostar Championship, these results securing him a place in the ‘British Talent Team’ run by Dorna in the FIM CEV Moto3 series.

To get a better understanding of his career we must go back to where it all started in 2010 when his career began at seven years old originally racing MX where he made his way up the 50cc, 65cc, 85cc and 150cc ranks before making the switch to tarmac in 2015 onto a Metrakit GP50. He adapted to this new form of racing incredibly quickly and was crowned the 2016 Minibikes and British GP70 FAB Champion in only his second year on tarmac.

These titles opened the doors for him to race in the inaugural season of the British Talent Cup and the British Superteens series on a Kawasaki 300cc bike taking 30 podium finishes and 11 wins on the green machine, from here the decision would be made to concentrate solely on Grand Prix derived material, remaining in the British Talent Cup for 2018 and riding in the Motostar series on the ex-Grand Prix Honda NSF250R.

2018 held a lot of promise with his first Motostar race win and a consistent showing in the British Talent Cup, there was no doubt that in the following year he would be gunning for the title in both classes. In 2019 he went on to be victorious in both series’ winning 10 of 12 races in the British Talent Cup which allowed him to make the natural progression into the Junior World Championship alongside Max Cook in the British (Junior) Talent Team in the FIM CEV Junior Moto3 World Championship.

He was now under the watchful eye of Dorna after winning their British Talent Cup and the ride with the Junior Talent Team in the FIM CEV automatically gained him two seasons in the championship without the need to fork out the six figures for a seat which many riders are forced to do, Dorna could also pick and choose which teams he raced for (within reason). This series has bred champions such as Marc Marquez, Fabio Quartararo and Joan Mir, nearly every rider in all three Grand Prix class has ridden in this series. It was getting serious.

The British rider proudly brandished the Union Jack in his Red Bull Rookies helmet design.

Not only this but he was also selected to ride in the prestigious Red Bull Rookies series which has also pushed many riders into the World Championship, being able to ride in both series’ in 2020 allowed Ogden to gain experience riding on Grand Prix tracks such as Aragon, Misano, Austria and many more as he battled against the ferocious competition which included Pedro Acosta in 2020, every rider in these two classes desperate to prove their worth to the Grand Prix teams and demonstrate that they are deserving of a seat in the World Championship.

2020 went well for Ogden as a rookie, he placed in P18 overall in the rookies with a best result of P11 and was more impressive than the results showed, over in the FIM CEV he was riding a Honda Moto3 bike for the Junior Talent Squad meaning he was alternating between the KTM and the Honda all season long, despite this he clocked in a best result of P8 in the FIM CEV and earned himself a place in the Aspar squad in 2021 which has proven to be hugely successful.

The move paved the way for Ogden to battle at the front of the field in the FIM CEV and show the best riders in Europe that he could match and even beat them on track, he eventually came home in a solid P6 overall and was consistently battling in the top five by the end of the season not forgetting his victory at Jerez and podium in Catalunya following an incredible last lap strategy. Over in the Red Bull Rookies he proved once again that he was strong at the Grand Prix tracks with six top 10 finishes in the 12 races he finished.

His performances didn’t go unnoticed and he soon established himself as Britain’s best hope of a Moto3 World Championship rider, therefore when the doors opened for Michael Laverty to start a British focused team, there’s no doubt Ogden was at the top of the list.

Featured images – FIM CEV Repsol + Red Bull Content Pool / Gold and Goose